Shipping box or crate.



H. J. WILLIAMS. SHIPPING BOX 0R CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 12, 1909.

923,395. Patented June 1,1909.

avwemfm UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE.

HENRY J. WILLIAMS, OF ITTABENA, MISSISSIPPI, ASSIGNOR TO FRANK W.

RUSHFORD, NEW YORK.

GRIFFITH, OF

SHIPPING BOX OR CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1909.

Application filed January 12, 1909. Serial No. 471,909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. Yi ILLIAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ittabena, in the county of Leflore and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and useful Shipping Box or Crate, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to shippingboxes and the like and its object is to provide a device of this character formed of veneer and the parts of which are so assembled as to per mit materials of considerable weight to be safely stored and transported within the box.

Another object is to provide a shipping box which requires comparatively few nails or like fastening devices for the purpose of holding the box together.

Another object is to provide a box, the wall panels of which are preferably fold-able upon each other, said box having top and bottom panels constituting reinforces for the wall panels and carrying novel means for preventing said panels from bulging.

Another object is to provide a box the opposed parts of which are duplicates, whereby the speed of assembling the said parts is increased and the cost reduced.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a-perspective view of a shipping box constructed in accordance with the present invention, por tions thereof being broken away. Fi 2 is an enlarged transverse section through the meeting portions of the top panel and one of the side panels, the retaining clips and the reinforcing slats being shown in elevation. Fig. 3 is a section through the meeting portions of the top panel and one of the end panels and showing the retaining button in elevation.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference A, A designates the end panels of the box, and the side panels thereof have been indicated by the letter B. Each of the end panels consists of similar top and bottom strips 1 and 2 respectively, secured at their ends to side strips 3, thus forming a durable frame on which is secured a sheet 4 of veneer or heavy card-board or the like. Grooves 5 are formed longitudinally in the centers of the strips 1 and 2. The upper and lower edges of the sheet 4 are removed from the grooves 5 distances substantially equal to the thickness of the veneer of which the top and bottom panels are formed as hereinafter described. Each side panel B of the box consists of a sheet of veneer, card-board or the like, as indicated at 6, the same being provided at the ends and at desired points between the ends, with transversely extending reinforcing strips 7, also preferably formed of veneer or the like and which are held in place by wires or in any other preferred manner. These side panels are connected to the end panels by means of hinges 8 of any preferred construction, so that when the box is not in use the four panels A and B can be folded together in a compact bundle.

The top and bottom panels of the box are similar in construction and have been indicated at C and D respectively. Each panel consists of a sheet 9 of veneer, card-board or the like, there being transversely extending reinforcing strips 10 upon the sheet and sewed thereon by means of wires, or secured in any other preferred manner. One of the end strips 10 is flush with one end of the sheet 9, while the other end strip is located at a short distance from the adjoining end of the sheet which thus forms a projecting ledge 11. The two end strips 10 project beyond the side edges of the sheet 9 and are designed, when the panel is in position upon the opened box, to rest upon the side panels and upon the adjoining ends of the strips 7 thereon, thus supporting the sheet 9 between the side and end panels and with the ledge 11 projecting into one of the grooves 5. This arrangement of the top and bottom panels between the side panels prevents said side p anels from sagging inwardly under external pressure. A button 12 is pivotally mounted upon the end strip 10 which is farthest removed from ledge 11, and this button is designed to swing into the adjoining groove 5 and to be held therein by driving a small nail through an opening 13 within the button and into the end panel.

Secured to the inner face of the sheet 1 at one of the side edges thereof are one or more retaining clips E, each of which consists of a strip of metal bent to form a base 14, which is fastened to the sheet 9, and a U-shaped extension 15 which laps the adjoining edge of the sheet 9 and has an elongated terminal portion 16. The clips are so proportioned that when the panels have been assembled as shown in Fig. 1 and with panels 0 and D resting between the edges of the panels B, the U-shaped portions 15 of the clips straddle the adjoining edges of the panels B and also of the middle reinforcing strip or strips 7, thus serving to support the middle portions of the panels C and D against sagging, and also preventing the middle portions of the panels B from bulging outwardly. The extended terminals 16 of the clips can be fastened to the side panels by means of small nails or staples, as indicated at 17.

Inasmuch as the top and bottom panels are similar in construction no difficulty will be experienced in assembling the parts of the crate, this being particularly true in view of the fact that the ledges 11 of the panels can be inserted into either of the end panels A. Those ends of the panels C and D carrying the buttons 12 may, if desired, rest on the adjoining edges of the seats 4, as shown in Fig. 2, thus assisting in preventing the ends of the panels C and D from sagging when subjected to pressure from the outside. This sagging is however overcome by the ends of strips 10 resting on the side panels. VJhen the box is constructed and assembled in the manner herein set forth it becomes as durable as other forms of boxes made up of much thicker material. This is true because of the novel manner in which the various panels interlock so as to reinforce one another against pressure both from the in side and from the outside. As the box can be formed of various thin materials its cost will be considerably less than that of the ordinary forms of shipping boxes, and this cost will be materially diminished. also because of the fact that but few nails are used in the construction of the panels and in securing the top and bottom panels in place.

Importance is attached to the particular form of clip used in connection with the top and bottom panels, because this clip prevents the top and bottom panels from sagging inwardly and bulging outwardly, holds said panels with their outer faces flush with the corresponding edges of the side panels, and prevents said side panels from bulging outwardly.

By forming the strips 1 with grooves along the centers thereof, no time is wasted in assembling the parts of the end panels because either edge of each strip can be placed uppermost.

it is of course to be understood that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

What is claimed is 1. A shipping box comprising hingedly connected end and side panels, each of said end panels consisting of a frame and a sheet of material secured upon the frame, there being longitudinal grooves in the upper and lower portions of the innerface of each frame, top and front panels each having a ledge insertible into one of the grooves, securing means upon each top and bottom panel for insertion into one of the remaining grooves, and means for supporting the top and bot tom panels between the side and end panels and for preventing bulging of the side panels.

2. A shipping box comprising hingedly connected side and end panels, said end panels having longitudinal grooves therein adjacent the upper and lower edges thereof, top and bottom panels each having a ledge insertible into one of the grooves, securing means carried by each of the top and bottom panels for insertion into one of the remaining grooves, and means carried by the top and bottom panels for engaging the side panels to prevent bulging of the top, bottom and side panels.

3. A shipping box comprising hingedly connected side and end panels, said end panels having grooves in the upper and lower portions of their inner faces, top and bottom panels each having a ledge insertible into one of the grooves, securing means upon each of the top and bottom panels and insertible into one of the grooves, and means carried by each of the top and bottom panels for maintaining said panels flush with the longitudinal edges of the side panels, said means including yokes for straddling the side panels to hold the same against bulging.

4. A shipping box comprising hingedly connected side and end panels, said end panels having grooves in the upper and lower portions of their innerfaces, top and bottom panels each having a ledge insertible into one of the grooves, means upon each of the top and bottom panels for detachably engaging one of the end panels, and clips upon the top and bottom panels and extending beyond the side edges thereof, each clip comprising a base secured to the panel and a U-shaped portion for straddling the adjoining edge of a side panel, said clips constituting means for preventing the side panels from bulging and for supporting the top and bottom panels between the side panels, and means for securing the U-shaped portion of the clips to the side panels for holding the top and bottom panels against bulging.

in testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY J. WILLIAMS.

Witnesses JAs. M. WALKER, C. E. Pnnmxnn'r. 

